


Moment to Arise

by cutestpixieyoueversaw



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Males, BAMF Stiles Stilinski, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing, Developing Relationship, Love Confessions, M/M, Pack Family, Pack Feels, Scott is an actual real life puppy, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-01
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-15 10:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/526176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutestpixieyoueversaw/pseuds/cutestpixieyoueversaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day Stiles finds a little girl in the forest behind the Hale property. She's everything he'll need and he's everything she wants. Now if she can only get rid of one sour Alpha wolf they'll be happily ever after. Sterek all the way</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lia

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be a one shot but I'm going to make this into a 3 shot short little fic. I blame tumblr and I thank it as well.
> 
> The title is taken from a line in the song Black Bird.

He finds her in the woods the morning after the full moon, huddling and scared uttering this little soft puppy like whines. Stiles was trying to convince himself to stop caring and getting really inappropriate thoughts about a certain sour wolf when he heard her whines.

She's small, no more than maybe 5 and she's wearing this really cute ballerina outfit with striped stockings to boot. Stiles tries to pretend that he doesn't let out a little coo of awes when she turns her little face up from where it was snuggled into her arms showing her cute face. The flash of golden amber tells him this is a werewolf but if this isn't the cutest werewolf he's ever seen, she's beating Scott with her adorable puppy eyes and it's hard to beat a natural born human puppy. Stiles doesn't even think much more than that before he's picking her up into his arms and heading back to the Hale house because like hell is he going to leave a kid outside all alone in the woods.

"What's your name cub?" and if he's been told already that he should stop with the dog or lupine jokes Stiles ignores it cause he's got talent and it's not his fault if people can't appreciate it.

The girl sniffles a bit burying her head into his chest more and if he holds her closer and a little tighter it's only natural to do right? "Accalia, b-b-but my mommy calls me Lia." she replies.

When they get back to the house Scott is waiting right where Stiles left him, inhaling food as if there was a pack of wolves surrounding him, which yeah so there really is a pack of wolves around but they are civilized people. At least they keep shouting they are whenever Stiles mutters that they're a pack of beast. Scott goes still the moment he actually takes a pause between inhaling his hand along with his bite of food and sniffs the air. He turns kind of like a possessed doll and the fact that Stiles doesn't scream 'back beast back!' is a testament to the manliness that he contains.

"What's that?"Scott questions sniffing again at the air as if a sign will suddenly pop announcing what's different about the scents he's used to. Stiles tries to refrain from mentioning he could just use his damn eyes because he's used to his friend by now. Sometimes things get into his head a bit slower than normal. "Is that kid? Is that-wait where did you get a pup from?" he shouts when the light bulb has finally been screwed on tight.

When Lia shakes and tries to actually burry into Stiles more, as if pushing her head more will somehow open up an invisible latch where she can hide away from the world, Stiles swats at his friend's perfect placed head.

"Don't yell. I found her in the woods, alone. She's a little dirty and probably hungry so move over." He grumbles back amazed at the stupidity that is his friend.

They've baby sat before, plenty of times and around so many perfectly impressionable minds, so he knows that there really is no reason for Scott to act like the dweeb he is acting. Or maybe the dweeb wolf should be his new name with the way he keeps skirting around them sniffing away.

Stiles tries to place Lia down into a chair but she suddenly grows claws that are prickling at his skin in warning that she's not ready to get down. Getting her a plate of eggs and pancakes doesn't make her move either which is bad because what child will not move for sugar good buttermilk pancakes? What child? In the end Stiles is reduced to balancing Lia in his lap and feeding her smaller cut up bits of her food. It's when he accidentally rubs her side and she lets out a giggle shriek, the kind that kids seem to be PhD level master at from birth, that Scott finally stops looking to torn and cracks a smile. He somehow can now understand that yes, his best friend is holding a little bundle of cuteness and warmth known as a child in his hands and yes she did just make an adorable sound. Once he finally get's that he goes to town trying to get that laugh out of her again and in less than five minutes she's in Scott's lap giggling away as if nothing's wrong at all, as if she wasn't found out in the forest alone.

Between the two of them, they get her to tell them her age and a bit about her pack. She's only 4 and a 8 months thank you very much and her pack's gone.

"Bad man comes with 'bane and mommy tells me to run. I don't want to run. I don't want to leave. But Alpha tells me to run and hide and mommy pushes me away…"

Scott has tears in his eyes while Stiles is trying and failing to remain calm. He already knows it's Wolf's Bane and that tells him to story too. A hunter came to her pack to kill. She's very likely the only one left alive. He looks over her body finally noticing the little cuts in her outfit, the dried blood, and the dirt. She's probably run over long distances before just collapsing where he found her. She's crying and Stiles is holding her close, as if he could take away her pain , as if he could steal it away. Scott's at his side stroking her hair and when they look up at each other there are tears coming down their faces cause they know what it feels like to lose parent, they know what it feels like to know someone isn't coming back home to tuck you in at night. They shatter together, two boys and girl who know what it means to lose something close. Stiles ignores the part of him that swears he'll be her new home.

By the time the rest of the pack emerges from wherever they've hidden off to Lia's already comfortable with Scott and Stiles, she runs to them when she smells new scents cowering behind their legs. Scott just gives his puppy grin leaving Stiles to be the actually mature near adult in the room and tell everyone about her.

"Accalia? Her name is Accalia, as in the She Wolf? As in Foster Mother of Romulus and Remus?" Lydia questions and Stiles knew the name should have been familiar to him he had crossed the name and story when he was researching. Lia nods her head to Lydia who just gives the room a general smug smile, as if they weren't already aware she's a genius. "I'll call you she wolf, is that okay?" she questions stooping down to the girl's level to talk. With a nod in agreement Lydia's already pulling Allison out the door claiming they're going shopping for little girl clothes.

The rest of the pack meet her and if she stays close to Scott and Stiles barely speaking as they each hold a hand they think nothing of it, it's only reasonable. Stile's found her, Scott tickled her. It's when Derek comes up to see her and do his wolf thing that she suddenly changes. Lia's growling and trashing away as if she could take him on, a little give or take 30lbs kid granted Stiles would give her attack points for being a werewolf but she was still a kid. Derek's eyes are bleeding red before their eyes. Scott's growling stuck between bowing his head down and giving his neck but Stiles is already moving picking Lia up and stepping away from Derek never breaking eye contact. Reasonably, he knows that it's a dangerous move, you don't stare down an Alpha much less one who could or could not be angry that an omega had to nerve to growl and raise imaginary fur at them. However, Stiles isn't listening to the logical part of his brain, he's just letting his body move while he tries to follow. Lia is his to protect and if he has to go against a sour or wont- stay- dead wolf, then he's ready.

Lia's lucky it's summer break when she comes to them and even luckier that Stiles has already told his father about the pack or else things would be different. Stiles can afford to give her his completely undivided attention every day. He can wake her up from where she's yet again abandoned the room and bed he set up for her in favor of snuggling into his side every single morning. He can grab her and throw her into the air before scooping her back into his arms for 'she wolf nose kisses'. She's going to be spoiled with the way she already knows Scott is down the hall getting her bath ready for her along with a hug and a light kiss on the head. They're becoming, really they're already there, inseparable. In three weeks time she's calling them Papa and Daddy. Stiles congratulates himself on remaining calm, on keeping the smile on his face and not giving into the slight pain that comes through him because how can he say no? How can he correct her and say no? He's all she has now as a parent, hers were stolen away in death.

He would like to think that after their first encounter things would have changed but it's a lesson in echoes; every time Derek gets too close to Stiles Lia is sure to growl, snarl and twist. Stiles has it down to a dance routine and in his head he's a ballet instructor telling his girls to go again with 'a 1, 2. 3'. She wont calm down until Derek's gone with Scotts there by their side stroking her hair while she clings to Stiles who tries to make it okay on his face how he wishes he knew why it can't work. He loves his best friend, best friend who is actually a bother that was misplaced in the delivery via stork, but he wishes inside that it was Derek who was holding Lia's other hand. He wishes that it were Derek who was taking little small careful steps listening on as she talks about the world and how she loves this or how she loves that and you Papa and you Daddy. He imagines how it would be Lia, Derek and himself. Two werewolves and a human, two adults and a cub. But he tries really hard not to dwell, it's just a crush that's been burning in his heart for two years. What's a little more silence?


	2. Sharing is Caring...well..not for Lia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One day Stiles finds a little girl in the forest behind the Hale property. She's everything he'll need and he's everything she wants. Now if she can only get rid of one sour Alpha wolf they'll be happily ever after. Derek has thoughts about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is chapter two. And it's from Derek's view in a way. I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not good with his view point unless it's like angst and more angst. So this is more like a warning that if it sucks I promise the next chapter after this will be better. Also thanks so much for waiting on this.

He finds them sitting at the kitchen counter the morning after the full moon talking and crowding around a new wolf smell. For a second he thinks it a threat to his pack and how could they be so stupid to let another wolf into their home? He allows that Stiles was angry with him the other day or so but to do something as stupid as letting an unknown wolf into their home, as in the pack's home not his and Stiles'. He's already set to show this unknown wolf who's the alpha when Scott moves out the way and he can suddenly see.

She's small with wavy brown hair and a werewolf pup. For a moment he's back home again remembering how this very house would come alive when the little ones came stampeding into the front of the house whenever someone came back. How they would yip and scream greetings and love. How they would fight to reach out to you for a welcome hug because you're back home with them and isn't that just the best thing they ever knew. It's the touch slight but heavy from his still alive even after being dead uncle Peter that brings him back to the present. He flicks his eyes at him in thanks before focusing more on Scott and Stiles. He fights the urge to reach out to his uncle in solidarity. Derek knows, the way he knows that Lydia will try to rule the world or Scott and Allison will be glued together for the rest of their Romeo and Juliet lives, that it's worst for him. That this pup is a torture for Peter's very senses because of all that it reminds him, for all the lost he can probably see flash before his eyes. Peter had a little girl and a wife who had died in the flames, a loss that he knows still haunts the man.

He listens as Stiles speaks telling them about the little girl. Her name's Accalia, a strong wolf name. The name of a capable leader who is nurturing enough to love. Once he hears the story of how Stiles found her he's already okay with letting her join them as pack, he isn't blind to things no matter what his uncle likes to mutter under his breath. He can see how Lia already is attached to Stiles, how her little fingers have already curled their way around his hands set to never let go. She stays close as each member comes close to sniff her and learn her sent as pack. Nothing goes wrong until he's there and suddenly she's fighting as if she stands a chance against him. As if she, a little four year old omega pup with zero training, can even hope to take on an Alpha like him. Derek's eyes bleed red before he can even care to stop them and he's a moment away from shifting and showing her who's the Alpha and reminding Scott who seems to be stuck between fighting him or rolling over like the good Beta he is. But Stiles, Mr. I-can't-shut-up-even-if-my-life-was-on-the-line aka I-have-no-self-preservation-, is already picking her up and staring him in the eyes as if his humanity could stare him down. But there's more in the look there that makes him pause, it's attachment. It's love. Stiles will fight him for her. He'll fight any of them and it's that fire that makes him pause.

It's a month and a half of torture and hell for Derek. It's a month of unrest and need. His wolf howls in pain and lust inside while he tries in vain to maintain his sanity on the outside. And it's all Stiles' fault. It's all his fault for being who he is and caring the way he does over a werewolf pup. He wants to hate him so much he really does but he can't bring himself to do more than restrict his wolf to drooling inside his mind. It's worst that Stiles doesn't even notice what he's doing. He's bonding with the pup, and if a potential mate bonding with pups isn't the hottest sexiest lingerie known to werewolves Derek doesn't know what else to say. It's in the way he smiles and laughs at her. It's the way he holds her close to his heart. The way he starts to nuzzle her when he pulls her up for hugs. The way he will check a room always to make sure she's there. Or the way he starts to tear food apart for her first before serving himself. Or the way that his heart beats strong and true when she's there. Derek could go on and on about the ways Stiles is amazing. He could write an actually essay about the ways his wolf has been compiling reasons why he would make a perfect mate because look at this and look at that. But what's the point of thinking about it without action? What's the damn point of looking after Stiles when he's tickling Lia and making her yip in happiness and love if he's not going to try to do something about his feelings?

Derek isn't a coward. Derek also is not afraid of a little four year old kid who is so low on the wolf pack hierarchy it's not even funny. Well she would be low on the hierarchy if his could be future mate hadn't already subconsciously adopted her as his pup. If his wolf would actually shut up from going insane with need, lust, and 'matemateMATEMATE' chants he would be able to form proper words. He would be able to actually tell Stiles that he's giving off pheromones sort of like paternal hormones that smell like heaven and hell all in one package. But every single time he tries to get close to them, every single time he thinks he can just sit there next to him and maybe brush his fingers across his jaw and lean in just a little bit closer, Lia is there snarling growling, fighting. If he didn't already want Stiles as his mate, if his future maybe mate hadn't already bonded with the pup already, if he didn't feel a version of sorry for the girl, he would have already taught her a lesson in respecting your Alpha. But he doesn't he just steps back away and let's them be. Derek does not walk away with his metaphorical tail between his legs.

She loves Jackson. She adores and loves Jackson, Jackson Whittemore. She loves Peter too but it's her love for Jackson that gets to Derek. Jackson spoils the girl in ways that you would never think that Mr. Whittemore would care to spoil a little kid. He spends time with her, laughs with her, hide and seek every single time she as much as gives him a single look. He buys her toys from ballerinas to stuff toys and when Stiles or Scott, her Papa and Daddy, are too busy or tired to play with her Uncle Jackson is always there to make her smile. The guy who was a douche bag to her Papa, the guy who was a Kanima and killed people in the night, the guy who will give you a twisted barb of a reply before actually giving you pleasantries is her favorite 'Uncle in the whole wide world'. It's not as if he's her only uncle either. Isaac and Boyd are uncles as well as Peter, who he's still trying to put his mind around, but it's Jackson who reigns supreme. And Derek would be lying to himself if he told anyone that it doesn't tick him off something special to know that the guy who was a jerk to his maybe future mate is the one that the pup has no problem letting around her adopted parent.

It's worst that Jackson loves her back.

It's worst that Jackson loves her back and takes her under his wing.

It's worst that between those two Derek knows he'll never have a normal dull day again. They start small with their bonding if you can even call pranking someone a form of boding for a "mature" werewolf and pup. First it's little pranks here and there that do no more than annoy him and give him satisfaction when he trains Jackson harder than the pack. It's when the pranks progress in levels that he starts to get annoyed. Shirking his clothes, replacing the sugar with salt for his coffee, replacing his soap for syrup, sewing the flap on his pants, dying his underwear hot pink, or putting peanut butter on the handle of his Camero. They even went a whole four days mimicking and miming his movements before they just couldn't do it anymore. He tried telling on them to Stiles, no he is not a little kid he's the Alpha, but other than getting him within actually smelling and touching distance with him nothing was solved. Jackson and Lia only turned their little eyes into passable Scott puppy dog eyes of cuteness before Stiles was shrugging and telling them to not be too bad. It's when they put blonde hair dye in Derek's shampoo that he starts to contemplate vengeance. It's when he thinks that he could get away with it that he decides pack back is nice. Throwing bologna onto Jackson's car on a nice summer day? Worth the cries of pain and outrage which come from "best uncle ever". The fact that literally anyone could have done it since Jackson really is that much of an asshole is just icing on the cake. The chili pepper hidden within the chocolate cookies that has Lia crying he swears doesn't hurt him at all. Doesn't make him cringe because he might have hurt his maybe mate's pup. He refuses to admit that he sits down in his room gnawing on his lips trying not to panic or get upset later on. It's war between them. He wants his mate. He wants his maybe future mate bad and it's killing him to not be able to touch him.

He doesn't like to admit it out in the open how much it hurts him to see Stiles and Scott holding Lia's hands. How they both can feel and just know the right speed to slow down to so that she can walk between them as she tells them about her day. How she tells them about the world and how she loves this or how she loves that and you Papa and you Daddy. How she drags Stiles hand to run toward the playground set with swings that Jackson bought for her last week. How she squeals to go higher Papa please higher while Stiles just smiles and laughs at her antics. Derek tries to hold it together he really does but it's driving him insane to see but not touch. To hear and feel the emotions in the air but know that he can't share it. So close to touch but so far away. He knows it's not Lia's fault but it would be so easy to blame someone for the pain he's feeling when he sees them together happy as could be without him there.

He grapples his wolf and lays down at night for painful dreams where he stands apart from their happiness trapped across the river from his future mate and a pup that will never let him make them his. That will never allow him to share their love. It's a place where all he can see is a smiling mate swinging pup with another set of hands. Where his dreams are the nightmares of his reality. How he yearns so badly for it to be them. For his reality to become two mates and their pup. A pup that helps make their family that they've found, that's all their own. But he wont dwell on it. He wont cry into his pillow like a little child. It's just a little crush. Just a wish for his mate. Derek won't say a word about it though, not because he's emotionally constipated but because he's afraid. Derek's afraid not so much of rejection but of what it will mean. Because everything he's ever truly loved has gone up in fire and smoke leaving nothing but ashes behind. If he has to contain this love for it to stay, for Stiles to always be able to smile and laugh and snuggle away with the pup that could be his too, then its alright. What's a little silence and longing to a life always shining?


	3. Only waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOO here is the much awaited end to the tale. I really hope all y'all will like it. Warning. You should like totally pee before reading this because it's longer than the last two combined. It's like nearly 4 times longer. Yeah. I went all out with it!
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVELIES! 
> 
> P.S. This is unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine. And you may yell at me about them.

Stiles ran pushing past branches, trees and even his own pain. In hindsight, he should have known this would happen to him. Life was going too well. There was too much happiness and calm in his world for everything to be okay. There was too much clam for the realities of what his life had become. This was his life. This was the way he lived now; brief moments of rest in between unreasonable, painful, and life threatening chaos. The fact that this living hell was happening to not only himself but also his Lia, his cub, was really, what was making his blood churn and twist as if something was clawing away at his very insides. But he couldn't stop yet; no, he couldn't take a breather. He didn't even want to take a breather, all he wanted to do was to turn around and attack but he couldn't do that.

He had to get Lia away somewhere safe first. He had to protect her above all else because if he didn't win the battle he was running away from then at least she could be protected. Accalia whimpered and snuggled closer into his neck releasing little claws that dig into his flesh and it's telling that he doesn’t flinch once when they start to draw blood but rather draw her closer and holds on firmer. He wishes he could absorb the fear she's radiating and make everything perfect but he can't even if he was a wolf- they can take pain but not fear. So Stiles kisses her on her head ignoring the way her pigtails are in shambles or the way her dress is slightly torn where he couldn't fully protect her from attacking claws or the way her tears are hurting him in ways the ripped flesh on his arms and back haven't yet. He's going to protect her; he's going to save his cub even if it kills him. He ignores the pain in his chest cause by no physical attack the thoughts bring; he doesn't want to die, he's never been kissed goddamn it. He's never gotten to even tell Derek and now...now he may never...No he won’t let the thought finish. Stiles pulls Lia up and closer running quicker and towards the river. _God what a horrible day this is turning out to be._

* * *

Stiles was sitting with Lia in the forest, she loved to be outside and run around and it seemed to calm her in ways nothing could whenever her eyes would get glassy and she would rub at her eyes especially hard refusing to cry "Because Papa is strong and you'll always take care of me...so..So I don't need to cry." He thinks he knows exactly what's wrong with her when she gets like this because he remembers what it was like when his mother died. He couldn't function right for months. He would think about things she would do or say at random times of the day and try not to cry because he knows his dad was hurting too. So he would bite his lips and turn away trying to be strong. He's trying to teach her it's okay to be 'weak' occasionally which yeah funny thing to say when their pack is full of people who don't understand what it means to let go.

 Stiles is still sometimes dealing with his mother's death and let's not even start on the whole Allison and a dead mother, aunt, and completely in every way evil insane grandpa. Peter went out of the box loco and let his grief control his anger. Lydia for the longest time couldn't let herself be anything but perfect. Jackson didn't know how to speak about his hurt of missing birth parents. Boyd was just dealing with his self-esteem issues along with Erica while Isaac was learning to be his own man. Derek was realizing that letting people close didn't mean you were getting weaker or that they would, all betray him one day. And Scott was learning to not be the 'runt' of the litter and show how great he could be. The thing is they're learning every day. They're improving bit by bit and Stiles would be damned if he didn't try to help her too she was his pack. She was his cub. When she's outside under the sun rolling around in the leaves, trying to wolf out, making flower necklaces and crowns, and just being a 4 year old she's okay. He's okay once she's okay. He isn't fretting or denying that he's actually whimpering or whining like a wolf or dog about her discomfort. He's at peace.

 And maybe it's his fault that he was too relaxed that this started, that the danger came too close before he was suddenly jumping over Lia and rolling away as a clawed hand came down on his body. His spidey senses were doing more than tingling when he finally rolled away from those claws standing up and looking into red eyes connected to a deformed alpha form. It reminded him vaguely of the form Peter once had but worst somehow and that's saying a lot considering that Peter looked bad. This one resembled a skeleton kind of the way Lupin did in the Harry Potter movies, but it was so much worst with patches of fur that looked like cactus thorns and it looked half dead, a living dead werewolf. Stiles was confused very much. Did werezombies exist? But the bigger question was what the hell was one doing here? This was not the enchanted forest not the forbidden forest or even the only damn forest in the damn state of California, so why the hell was everything turning up here? Stiles didn't like this alpha; is what he had researched was right which of course it was, and then this was bad. As if he knew Stiles was already thinking of the best way to run away from him the guy morphed back to a very naked human. Stiles made sure that Accalia's head was covered as he took a step back. This wasn't good at all. Something that felt like a growl, which was crazy because he wasn't a wolf at all, was staring in his chest and building. The rouge alpha was answering with his own growls that grew louder before suddenly stopping.

 "Give me the girl." The guy said in a rough scratchy voice, which sounded every bit like a man who smoked two packs a day and a glass of whiskey since he was 16.

 Stiles couldn't stop the thing, which came out of his mouth that sounded very much like a growl from erupting in response. "Fuck you. I'm not giving you my cub!" he screamed back moving back a step. He didn't have time to bother about the fact that he was cursing in front of a 4 year old.

 "Your cub?" The rogue laughed back before snarling and half morphing "That isn't yours at all. You're not even-really?" he laughed again and Stiles took another step back not liking the way the guy sniffed the air at all. He needed to get away from this creep. He wasn't giving up his cub for anything. "What do you know? You've bonded with her...a stupid human making a cub bond with a werewolf pup. I'll just have to kill you both; a werewolf and a sympathizer."

 "What the hell are you talking about? We did nothing to you!" Stiles shouted back.

 "She's mine. She's my hunt."

 "Over my long dead body are you even touching her! She's mine."

 "I think I'll kill her first then, just to show you how undead you are before she's already dead." The rouge promised in a voice that really would Peter and even Vader to shame in its level of evil deadly promise.

 Stiles threw the wolf bane soaked dagger he always carried on him at the alpha who turned too quickly for it to hit its mark. It missed his heart and got into his shoulder instead.

 Stiles cursed.

 Stiles turned around and ran.

 He ran as if a hound of hell was after his soul.

 He ran like death was already close at heel.

* * *

 There, he finally not only heard the river but he saw it too. Stiles ran faster not stopping. This had to work. He had to get Accalia away from this and he had to take care of this. Making a silent but thankful thanks for Erica telling him to take his hoodie with him when he left the house he unzips it a bit before putting Lia in it and zipping it up again. She already knows to hold on to his neck and not let go. She hasn't moved much except to keep trying to get closer to his body. By the time, he gets to the water his hands are free to hold onto rocks so that they aren’t pulled away with the current going in the opposite direction. He knows there's a set of trees that aren't too far from the river's bank. He remembers coming with the pack one summer before and thinking the way the roots curved and grew made a perfect hiding hole for something small. He heads for that hoping that he's still quick enough to get there in time and still run away from the damn bastard.

The water was pushing against his body and the wounds he hasn't allowed himself to think about until now. He bit his lips trying not to think too much about the fact that the water is turning pink where the water rushes against his body; he knows the hoodie's dye isn't running but rather that he's hurt. Stiles wasn't thinking about his own safety when he jumped over Lia and it took some time for him to roll away from those claws. He knows mechanically that his back got gouged a bit along with his arms. What matters is that he won't let his pain or discomforts stop him from getting Lia to safety. Once he's there, he gets out of the river quickly; he doesn't have much time he knows before the rouge will find him. He unzips his jacket and pulls it off before he starts to unwind Accalia's grip on him.  It hurts in unimaginable ways when she tries to fight him and stay connected. She's whimpering and he's making whines back at her trying to let her understand how much he doesn't want to leave her.

 "I need you to stay here Lia. I need you to stay quite, very quite like hide and seek, and stay here please...I-I can't let you die." He whispers to her pulling out his hidden bottle of mountain ash. He pushes her back into the little crawl space under the roots quickly making a line around her so that she's stuck inside until someone who loves her comes around to pull her out. He gives as much spark as he can spare from a hurt and tiring body. He pours every ounce of love he has into it ignoring the way she tried to claw at the ground and whimpers and shakes shaking her head.

 She's trying to grab him but her hands can't reach outside the barrier he's made and it's killing him to see the way her eyes are filling up and spilling out like an overfilled bowl of water. "Mama...Mama...Papa...Papa. No. No. No. Please..." she whispers through trembling lips.

 Stiles breaks a bit reaching through the barrier to wrap his arms around her once more and kiss her head. She's whispering to him that the rouge is the bad man who killed her pack. She's whispering that she doesn’t want to be a good girl and hide. She doesn't want him to go and please can he not go. Her mama didn't come back. Accalia shakes the whole while and Stiles can only pet her head and force himself to be strong because he's leaving her no matter how much she wished he would stay. He's leaving her just like her mother left her in order to save her and he knows he may die doing it but he's okay. He's okay with it all because this is his cub and he'll go to hell before he lets anyone hurt her if he can stop it. So he gives her one more hug before pulling back and away from little arms that try to follow him still. He shakes his head to himself or to her he isn't sure. He leans in once more to give her a bloody kiss on the head uncaring about how his lips got blood on them; he wants her to know how much he loves her. How much he wished he didn't want to leave. 

 Stiles is pushing away and sliding into the river once more holding on to the edge of a rock that hangs over the river ready to let the current glide him down again. He tries not to listen to the voice in his head that curses him and tries to get him to look back once more at the cub he's leaving behind. The cub he's leaving alone. The cub he's abandoning. He tries to tell it to shut the fuck up, he's only doing this to save her from pain. It whispers back that it's too late to save her from that. He lets go and the river pulls him down it's path as if with long waiting fingers. He can't help the last look he turns towards Lia.

 It feels like he's dying already.

 When he gets to the right place he grabs another branch to stop his trip and emerges wet and nearly defeated on the other side of the river from where he had first ran through. Stiles throws off his bloody hoodie to the forest floor so that it will lead the rouge in his direction. Lia's flower bracelet falls to the grown, bringing his eyes unbidden to its fall.

 He covers his eyes to stop the image but it's already forming in his mind trying to tear him apart. He sees his last image of her slamming her hands into the barrier with tears on her face and little hands turning red with blood from the cuts her own claws are making. He sees her face of pain. He sees her body fall against the barrier. He sees the way her face contorts with pain that won’t stop. His fingers dig into his head as he raises his head to the sky and howls .

 He doesn’t lie to himself the bitter resentment and anger induced vindictive sadistic smile that comes to his face when he hears the rouge growl from across the river.

 He's going to kill him.

 He's going to kill the bastard today.

He's going to kill the bastard today and he's going to enjoy every single moment that he does it.

 He'll make him beg for death long before he kills him.

 He's going to regret making Stiles do this to his cub.

 He's going to kill him.

 He's going to kill him or die trying.

 

He howls again into the day with his promise.

* * *

Derek sits with his head in his hands thinking about the way that Stiles looked with his stupid skinny jeans and tight plaid shirt. He looked delectable. He looked good enough to eat and it kills him the fact that he can't verbally make it known how much he enjoys the way he's dressing. He hates the way Lydia is dressing Stiles these days. It's eating away at his control. It's making him feel like he's going to lose his mind, that or actually bust a nut. He thinks Peter is helping her and doing it on purpose as some sick form of punishment. He hates the way that its actually working on him. He hates the way that it’s doing more than just lightly working on him; it's doing more than making him drag his eye up and down Stiles' body multiple times of the day. He's getting hard looking at him now. Its messing up his groove and slowly making him consider priesthood because this is too much. His betas can smell some of his arousal if the raised eyebrows Isaac gives him, the shake of the head Boyd bestows on him, or the matching mischief decked smiles Peter shares with Lydia. He contemplates the times he's wished her immunity to the bite had stopped her from developing keener senses still. Either Scott doesn't know what he smells or he's being smart enough to not even show that he doesn't know what's happening. Derek reminds himself plenty of times that Scott really is smart when he cares to be. Erica is the only loyal one or perhaps she just can't stand the smell of others arousal much; she tells Stiles to wear his hoodie saving Derek from noticing his chest and arms anymore. It's not really fair the way the guy can look so small and twig like on an everyday level but actually be muscular and pretty much a gift to stare at. Those damn skinny jeans don’t help anything. Derek is lamenting his luck with falling for an attractive guy who just so happens to have bonded with the first pup to despise him with no clear reason.

 He's just thinking about raising his head and maybe taking a walk around the woods while he waits for Stiles to come back from his time with Lia in the forest when he hears it. It a howl that's not only new but also promising pain. Another howl follows it not even a minute after. Derek is up and running outside before, he's aware that he is. He doesn't even take in the fact that he's growling and already morphing before Peter's hands land on his shoulders and he turns around prepared to tear at his neck. His whole pack minus Allison who was at home with her father was looking at him. Jackson and Scott are starting up a growl that's growing the longer they turn in the air and sniff. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd are in their triangle formation; Erica and Isaac form the front sides with Boyd at the rear. Peter is behind him with Lydia not far behind. He doesn't have time for this something is wrong. He feels something is wrong and he's not up to not listening to his gut these days. He didn't listen to his gut when it told him to follow Laura back to Beacon Hills and stop letting his past scare him but he didn't. He's not inclined to let it go unheard now.

 "What is it _uncle_?" he questions trying to make sure that his dear uncle can hear all the frustration he has with him right now; how much he doesn’t have time to stay and listen to anything.

 "Do you even know who the hell that howl was from or what it could mean?" Peter replies staring to look panicked himself.

 "No-" he snaps back.

 "Is it another wolf? Is it a rouge wolf?" Isaac asked.

 "Stiles is out there!" Scott noted as if they didn't already know that.

 "Lia is out there with him!" Jackson added along.

 Derek growled at them, "I already know that you idiots." He felt a sharp sting on his cheek before he realized that Lydia had slapped him. He made to bite her, sure it wouldn't turn her but he didn't have time or the care to act civil with her right now. He was the alpha.

 "You need to listen to him!" Lydia shrieked at him.

 Peter tapped him on his shoulders where he hadn't let his hand leave yet. "Listen to me," he urged and it was the way his voice was starting to shake a bit that made Derek and the rest of the pack lean closer to him and silence their words. "That howl, it was Stiles-"

 "Stiles isn't a werewolf though." "It can't be him." Scott and Jackson butted in.

 "Shut up, both of you." Erica ordered.

 "As I was saying, it's Stiles. He's been bonding with Accalia all this time. He's been adopting her the way biology lets cubs be adopted by humans and werewolves alike. That was a mother's or female's call. Ignore the fact that he's not a girl, it's the call the mother of the cub would make. It doesn’t mater the sex of the person or wolf when the cub gets adopted. "

 "Hurry up Peter!" Lydia seethed.

 Peter let a frown show quickly before shaking his head. "The point is that's the howl of a mother swearing death. It's the call you make when you promise death to your enemy or yourself before the cub's."

 "We have to find Lia." Jackson whispered.

 "We have to find Stiles too!" Scott said instead.

 Derek shrugged his uncle’s hands off his shoulders before stepping back and roaring for the pack to listen to him. "We're getting them both back. Alive. And we're going to kill whoever it is that's come to our land. Lydia you and Isaac are staying here just in case they make it back here. Erica, Peter, Jackson, and Scott you're going to be looking for Lia. Stiles most likely hid her or sent her away to fight this. Boyd, you're with me. Understood?! Let's go!" Derek commanded before letting the alpha form take over his body.

 He howled to the high noon sun, they were coming.

* * *

 

Accalia sat in the cave like hole made from the roots of the trees and shivered. She wasn't aware if she was cold or not only that she was in pain. It wasn't physical; her papa had made sure she was safe from the claws of the bad man. She just wished that it meant something right now. He papa had pushed her away just as her mama had the first time the bad man had come. She wanted to cry again but she knew somehow that more tears would bring the wails and her papa had told her to be quite, so she would try her best to be. But it hurt so much to think about him gone. He was hurt so bad but he didn't let it stop him from trying to save her first.

 Lia felt horrible. Her papa could die. He could die all because of her.  She didn't want to think about it because then she thought about her mama, how she was dead already. How she had seen her Aunt Fiona run to the bad man only to get shot in the chest and fall. Her mama had tried to hide her from the violence but she hadn't hid her eyes well at all. She knew death already. She didn't want to leave her mama but her alpha had turned and commanded her to run as far as she could and as fast as she could for five days before she could stop. She had felt so lucky and safe here with her new family. She had the best aunts and uncles anyone could ask for. She had a great dad. She had a perfect papa. She just didn't like her alpha.

 It wasn't her fault really, why she didn't like him. The first time she met him her papa had suddenly smelt wrong, he smelt of sadness, anger, and a bit like pain. No one made her papa feel like that. No one would make him smell like that if she could help it. So she tried to get rid of the one that caused it. She growled and fought and tried to attack her alpha and because papa was fierce he always stopped the alpha from coming closer to her, he was willing to fight an alpha for her. Uncle Jackson enjoyed her spirit against alpha Derek. She enjoyed his attention and love. Everything wasn't perfect. Her papa would sometimes smell a weird shade of sadness and sometimes if she was being sneaky enough, she could smell the same thing on the alpha. She wasn't big enough to understand what was happening and she wasn't wise enough like aunt Lydia to get what was wrong but she knew enough for her mind; alpha Derek was responsible for her papa's smell of sadness. She didn't like that smell. She didn't like her papa being sad at all. Thus, she didn't like alpha Derek at all.

 As she sat there in the hole though, she couldn't help but wish that alpha Derek was here now. She wished to the place that aunt Allison told her mothers went to, the place her mother along with Aunt Allison and her papa's mother was. She wished really hard that alpha Derek and maybe the whole pack heard her papa's howl. Lia heard it loud and clear. She has to stop herself from howling back her love for him; she had to be as quite as could be. She wanted her papa to come back to her okay and alive. She wanted him so much. The longer Lia sat there the more she thought about her papa and how much she wanted him to be okay. How much she didn't want him to die like her mama.

 She started to make bargains with her wishes.

 Her Uncle Peter had told her how sometimes you have to give something up in order to get something back. How sometimes wishes could want a fair trade, a wish for something else. Bargains could help.

 She was willing to bargain a good deal of things for her papa.

 She would bargain her swing and play set from uncle Jackson for her papa.

 She w bargain her nice room for her papa.

 She would bargain her hair for her papa.

 She would bargain her new blue bird stuff toy for her papa.

 She would give up her play time forever and ever for her papa.

 She would give up her voice for her papa.

 She would give up her ability to change into a werewolf for her papa, she didn't mind being just like him.

 She sat there staring at the ground thinking about all she would change or give up for her papa.

 She would give up her soul; her uncle Isaac told her everyone had a soul.

 She didn't think it was too much to give up her life for her papa.

 Her eyes started to water again.  She tried to blink away the blurry lines it caused pulling her chin up. Accalia just wanted her papa back. She was willing to give anything for it.

 

Anything.

* * *

Derek ran. It was the only other thing on his mind other than Stiles is in danger and hurt along with Lia. The pack had found the area where Stiles and Lia had been and it had set them off into anger. They could all smell the blood that they knew was Stiles' telling them he was out there fighting a werewolf not at his best. Erica found the blade not too many steps away from where his blood was. When they had gotten closer to the blade he and Peter snarled with rage; there was another alpha in the area. The fact that the blade Allison had given Stiles a year ago was covered in alpha blood told them enough. They ran off after both smells hoping to find them before Stiles was hurt or worst. He growled once they reached the river. He could smell Stiles perfectly well, hell he could even see the bloody hoodie Stiles was wearing on his way out the house earlier in the day. It made his body shake with too much anger, luckily for him his anger was a form of strength at times. He paused briefly to look at his uncle and nod his head once before jumping to cross the river and following Stiles' scent. Boyd followed without a word.

 The longer they ran the more frustrated he grew without finding Stiles or the other alpha. He and Boyd had to spilt up not long into the forest and go two separate ways leaving Derek alone to the sounds of his paws on the ground pounding, his breathing, and his thoughts. He hated the last one the most. It tore away at him unfair and cruel. _'Why did you wait so long to admit to him that you wanted him?  No you may have lost your chance at this. How dare you even call him your could be possibly mate? Who would want to be a mate with you? An Alpha would didn't protect him well enough. An alpha who made him resort to death to protect him cub because his alpha was too weak to deal with anything. You're pathetic. It's going to be your fault why he 's going to die. Because you can't run any faster. You can't run fast enough. If you cared for him enough you would already be there. You would already be there to save him.'_ Derek tried to shake the thoughts away and focus only on the fact that he had to find Stiles and help him, to save him and bring him home. Because Stiles belonged with the pack in every way possible and if he died...NO!

 Derek wasn't going to lose another member of his family.

  _'That's right. You wouldn't want to lose another family member. Like the ones you lost all those years ago. If you don't save him it'll be just like old times won't it. Too late Derek. The werewolf that couldn't save anything he really cared about. Not a relationship. Not his blood family. Not even his could be hopefully mate._

_A failure of a werewolf._

_A failure of an alpha._

_A failure.’_

_Derek stopped_ running and shook his head again. He could admit to himself that he sometimes still was full of his guilt for the death of his family. But he wasn't the one who locked the doors in the house. He wasn't the run who poured gasoline on every available surface. He wasn't the one who set the fire and watched as a family burned to death. He wasn't Kate. As for being a failure of an alpha, he knew deep down that he wasn't. He knew that other packs could of lost their numbers when going up against an alpha pack or the other host of things they had fought in years. However, they were all alive and breathing, yes they had scars and near death occurrences more than was healthy. But they were all alive. Every single member of his pack was with the living; even if they had to do magic to get back there like Peter they were still alive. Derek knew he was responsible for some of that.

 If Stiles died though, if his maybe could be mate died before he could save him...

 If he was too late....

 If Stiles...

No.

No.

 To the highest level of heaven or hell, he howled out his answer.

 He vowed he wouldn't fail.

 He couldn't fail.

 Stiles was his.

 

It was about time for him to be selfish.

* * *

 

Accalia's head snapped up at the howl she heard in the air. A wobbly grin grew on her face. Her alpha was angry. Her alpha was going to save her papa. She let out a light whimper of happiness finally. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting in the hole. She didn't know if the rest of the pack was with Derek trying to help her papa against the bad man but she didn't really care anyway. Someone was going to help her papa. She didn't have to think hard about it, she knew he would save papa. So maybe he made her papa smell of sadness a lot. Alpha Derek always tried to take care of the pack; he was a caring alpha if she was honest with her views.

 When her uncle Peter's head suddenly popped into view in front of her hole she couldn't stop the happy yip she gave in greeting. She didn't even care about the fuss uncle Jackson made once uncle Peter pulled her away from the hole and barrier into his arms. Lia didn't care so much anymore about her bloody hands even though uncle Jackson was kissing and caressing each with growls in between. She just held onto uncle Peter and let her tears come.

 She was okay.

Her pack was okay.

 Her papa was going to be okay.

 Her papa wasn't going to join her mama or aunt Fiona in death.

 Who cares if she had to make a bargain to get her wish.

 What's a little loss in the scheme of family.

What's more important than keeping it?

* * *

 

Stiles abruptly stopped running the moment he heard the howl. It was Derek. He didn't have time to wonder what in the name of Fenrir was going on with him. He half expected to see claws instead of regular nails and fingers when he looked down. Something was going on with his body that made him growl, howl, and yip. He knew he was human. He didn't get bit at all. He wasn't suddenly sprouting a very furry problem. So something was happening that no one had told him about. The fact that this bastard somehow knew a bit about it didn't sit well with him either. But he had bigger things to think about other than his sudden wolf like issues. Namely how he was going to kill this bastard. As if he knew he was being thought about a twig snapped not too far away from where Stiles had stopped. He huffed in annoyance and started to run again through the trees. He sidestepped uprooted trees, rocks, and wild animals trying to put more distance between him and the river. The further he drew the rouge away from the river and more into the forest the better off Lia would be. The more he made him run the longer he had to think up a plan to finish this or die trying.

 He was serious about the dying trying to kill this bastard.

 He had just a little bit of mountain ash left in his pocket. He could throw it in the guy's face once he got closer and maybe hope it would do something similar to what had happened to Allison's grandpa. If it didn't it would at least give him time to do something else. Stiles ran and jumped over a little ditch making sure to pull up a fallen stick as he kept going. He had to be quick with this. The guy was sounding closer than he was before. Damn. It wasn't bad enough that he was a rogue alpha, no he had to have been a former hunter as well. Stiles hoped that whoever made this creature, because he really was a creature, could feel his displeasure at them. What the hell were they thinking when they bit him! What genius tries to bite a hunter? He paused quickly before turning to the left continuing on.

 The growl he heard this time was most certainly the asshole and it was much closer this time too. Maybe he could understand what the other alpha had thought he was doing if he really thought hard about it. They were dying. They knew they didn't have long. So what way can you get payback against a fanatic who thought your kind was evil and should be killed? What better way was there to give a lasting payback when you couldn't kill or maim them properly? Make them into the very thing they hated. Make them become the creature they feared deep down. Mess up their life just like they had messed up yours. Stiles could give it to them that it was a nice form of payback. But right now he wanted to hate them a lot. Because of them his pack was dealing with this. Because of them he was running, bleeding, and hoping he made it out of this again.

 He didn't want to admit that he doubted he would.

This time when the growl came he felt the heat rush to his body. He had no time to jump away before claws were ripping into his back again slamming him down to the earth. God who is in heaven and Satan who guards hell it hurt worst this time. Stiles tried not to scream but when the claws dug in again he knew the screams of a dying man were his. It was worst than when Gerard  was beating him up with his fist and kicking him. It was worst than when Gerard  had captured him the second time and electrocuted him in addition to beating him up. It was worse than the time he had gotten shot in the arm jumping in front of Erica when rogue hunters came into town. It was worst than time that witch tried to bleed him dry to use him for her potion. It was even worse than the time the alpha pack had caught Isaac, Boyd, and himself and tortured them trying to get them to talk. He didn't know why it hurt more than those other times but he was pretty sure this took the whole cake, pie, and meal. He suddenly was slammed up against what felt like a tree and punched in the chest. It felt like his ribs were cracked or even broken from that. He tried breathing but it was coming out in little gasps that weren't enough. It was like he was having a asthma attack and he wasn't even close to an inhaler. He tried to claw at the hands around his neck, he tried to free himself, only to get slammed again. Why did  he never take the bite again? He didn't have a good reason at the moment for not taking it. Being human hurt. Being human was killing him this time.

 "You call-you call that a slam?" Stiles choked out with labored breaths. "I've had better slams from a senior citizen."

 The punch to his legs which had him biting his lips to bleeding was a good comeback. Really it felt like it broke something.

 "Where’s the little girl hmm?" The rogue questioned moving closer to his face.

 " _What big teeth you have grandma_." he taunted back.

 The slap this time nearly made his head spin all around like a possessed doll. It hurt. It hurt really bad. Stiles didn't think he would be able to ever get rid of the pain that was growing in his body. "Where. Is. The. Fucking. Girl?"

 "I'll tell you where...up your fucking ass and around the corner. Why don't you sniff her out with your little black nose?"

 The rouge only smiled a twisted smile that made a demon's kiss look really appetizing all of a sudden. "You know I was _just_ going to kill her in front of you. Maybe eat her little heart and then kill you. However I think I'll kill every single wolf in town. Maybe I'll start with the alpha."

 Stiles felt as if a switch had been turned on, it was most likely labeled 'In case of a threat to pack turn on'. He had enough power to head butt the ass in the head and crush his nose. He got dropped to the floor while the rouge tried fix his nose. Broken noses made normal people feel like shit, he could only imagine how bad it would feel on a werewolf. His legs hurt, his left leg seemed to be sprained or even broken but he didn't let himself dwell too long on it. Not wasting anytime Stiles ran towards him pulling out the vial he had the mountain ash in and crushing it against the bastard's face shards and all. Stiles would be lying if he said he didn't find a high amount of sadistic pleasure in seeing the rogue rolling around on the ground yowling in pain as the mountain ash sparked against his skin. He even could laugh when he saw that some of the ash had been swallowed as well making the rogue gag up black blood. Turning around the area they were in he saw the stick he had dropped when he was finally caught. He picked it up and walked over to the still rolling around in pain rogue and roared as he brought the stick down across his head and body multiple times.

 "How's this feel you ass? Feel good?" He demanded. The rouge moved his hands away from his face to growl at Stiles. Stiles gave him a smile that would do the Joker very proud. "Let's play a game! I like games. This one is called head golf. It's really easy. Get ready, FOUR!" He stormed. The snap of the stick against the rouge's head was music to his ears.

 "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to fucking kill you. And I'm going to enjoy it very much." he said walking closer to get ready to stab the rogue in the legs.

 Stiles didn't get to land his punishing blow before the rouge kicked out at his bad leg and he crumbled like a rag doll to the floor. The rouge loomed over his body pining his arms above his head and sitting on his legs. Stiles tried to flail or to buck him off of his body so that he could attack but the rogue had a good hold on him. "Make my day bitch." he grunted.

 The rogue just looked at him for a bit tilting his head back and forth and shaking it to clear away some of the blood that was still flowing down his face. Stiles was very happy that the asshole couldn't heel everything yet. "Do you know how a wolf can become an alpha?" he questioned in a too mild tone.

 "If this is some way of saying some people were made predators and some were born to be prey than you can pleasantly choke to death on Bambi's mother's heart for all I care." Stiles said.

 "Some people were made to be predators and some were made to be prey," the rogue acknowledged nodding his head before squeezing Stiles' held arms and digging his claws in a bit more. "But the question is if you know how an alpha is made. You've to to be bitten by a wolf first and then you've got to kill the alpha. It's very important that you've been bitten first or else nothing happens. If something did hunters everywhere would be wolves-"

 "Fascinating bed time story. What does it have to do with trying to kill you?" Stiles interrupted.

 "I've killed one alpha once. Look how powerful I've become. I wonder what killing two will do to me?"

 "You can't kill him. He's going to kill you. I would say I'll save you a seat in the afterlife but I think we're going to vastly different neighborhoods."

 The slam this time was expected so Stiles wasn't thrown too much by it. He was making bargains in his head about how much he would love to live his life better if he could just never get slammed into something ever again in his life. It hurt like a bitch. "You couldn't kill me. I doubt anyone werewolf is going to be able to."

 "You forgot something captain, you're not at your very best. Who got you there? A little plain human.  Take that with you to the grave."

 The rogue's mouth snapped open showing his morphed jaws and teeth. "I'm going rip your throat out-"

 Stiles tried bucking out of the hold one last time snorting at the same time. "Please tell me that isn't your 'prepare to die' line. I've heard better from dying men." He said.

 There was only a growl in response. Stiles closed his eyes. He was going to die.

 He was going to die out here in the woods.

 Lia was going to lose him as well.

 He was going to miss his family.

 He was going to miss Peter and Lydia trying to outsmart each other.

 He was going to miss the way Jackson and Boyd got along perfectly fine with their rolled eyes, quite judging snickers, or 'you're beneath me' silence.

 He was going to miss the way Erica and Allison were slowly getting along to the point they had secret little laughs.

 He was going to miss the bromance between Scott and Isaac. He was going to miss that a lot. He laughed in his mind about the secret he was actually taking to the grave about those two.

 He was going to miss waking up to a Lia snuggled close to him in the mornings.

 He was going to miss Derek.

He was going to miss Derek and the chance he was going to have to forget about. He would never get to say anything about his feelings towards him. He wasn't going to be able to even fail. He wasn't going to be able to try anything now.

 That made him feel like crying.

 He didn't want to die.

 He didn't want to leave them all behind.

 He didn't want to say good-bye.

 A tear fell through his shut eyes and rolled down his bruising and bloody face.

  _I'm sorry_ he thought to all of them. _I'm so sorry._

* * *

 

Derek jumped into the clearing just as the rogue alpha started to descend his head to Stiles' neck. He didn't think. He was flooded with a haze of red. He ran and collided with the alpha pushing him away from Stiles' beaten body and across the clearing. He morphed back into his middle form and picked up Stiles' head in his hands. _Please be alive. Please be alive. Please!_ he kept saying in his mind. Stiles suddenly threw open his eyes to stare at Derek in shock.

 "I'm not complaining because thank you I'm not dead but maybe you could save the 'last minute' rescues for times when I actually have the heart to love it." Stiles commented.

 Derek could only blink at him in response. He wanted to kiss Stiles on the lips. He wanted to do more than just kiss him on the lips. He wanted to kiss him on the lips so hard and so consuming that Stiles would pass out from the lack of air as Derek tried to gobble him up. He wanted to breathe him in. He wanted to just have him closer. Holding his head in his hands wasn't enough. Being close to his body wasn't enough. If he was just a little bit later...if he didn't take the left turn back there. He nearly lost Stiles and maybe it's this 'too close to call' brush with death that's making him think that maybe he's an idiot and he needs to man up. He can't keep just putting his tail between his legs. He wanted Stiles. He wanted to have him for a long time. He wanted to have him for forever. Sitting back and being afraid, of a child no less, wasn't a good enough excuse anymore. It was a weak escape.  He had nearly lost his love one today and the one he loved didn't even know he was loved. This couldn't go on any longer. He wasn't going to lose this too.

 "Derek. Derek. Earth to Derek. My god, DEREK!" Stiles shouted in his face. He frowned and looked at him in question. "We still have an alpha to deal with. A former hunter turned werewolf. He's the  one that killed Lia's whole pack. I got him with some ash but he isn't dead and I'm not going to accept that he's dead until I see a headless body."

 Derek got up and moved to the area he had thrown the body only to jump back when the alpha jumped up. He snarled and got an answering reply in turn. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to kill him nice and slow before presenting the head to his mate. Because Derek was going to work as hard as he had to work in order to get Stiles to be his mate. If he had to climb Mt. Everest or go on a quest he was willing to do it all so that Stiles would agree. And the first step to his goal was killing the threat to his pack and future mate.

 "Why don't we talk about this hmm? Alpha to alpha? I just want what's mine." the rogue alpha suggested with a false smile. Peter could give him lessons in perfecting his fake smile of reassurance. He's seen better even on an Argent. Allison has better evil fake smiles and the girl is as Stiles is fond of saying a study in Disney Princesses.

 "You own nothing here. You have no right to be here. You have no right to have attacked anyone on my land." Derek  demined.

 The rouge's face collapsed into frustration and anger. "The cub is my kill! She's mine. She's my pack. Surely you wont stop me from my pack."

 "Like hell is she your pack you fucker!" Stiles growled back in anger trying to get up to a standing position. "Just because her alpha bit you and you killed him doesn't mean you get the right to kill her too. You own nothing but your own demented mind!"

 Derek tensed ready to defend Stiles in case the rouge alpha thought to try to attack. He knew his brows were falling down more and more on his face to what he was hearing. Even if he wasn't the hunter that had killed Lia's pack he would have killed him for attacking his mate and his mate's cub. But now? Now he was very much inclined to kill him for this too.

 His must have shown where his mind was going if the way the rouge's face to contorting and the snarl he was starting was any indication. "She's just a cub. She's an omega cub anyway. And he's just a human-"

 "A human who beat you up pretty nice if I may say so. As a matter of fact I think I could take you on in round two. " Stiles added.

 "Who cares if they die? No one's going to care!" he shouted.

 "I doubt I would be okay with a dead mate now would I? So I guess that means they're both pack and the thing is, no one messes with our pack." Derek retorted.

 Derek cracked the muscles in neck and started to shift more in the wolf before growling at the rogue. No one was going to care? No one was going to care if Stiles died? He could already see Lia crying and breaking apart to the idea of Stiles here papa dying. Scott would leave the pack in less than a year once his best friend was dead. Allison would leave with him. Lydia would become angrier with the rest of them and convince Peter to take Jackson and her as his very own pack. Boyd and Erica would stay with him this time only because they would feel guilty about leaving him that first time. Isaac would leave last and follow Scott. That wasn't even counting how the Sheriff would feel once he knew that his son was dead because Derek let another wolf kill him. He probably would join Chris in a number of months.

 He didn't let himself think what would happen to Stiles if he let Lia die.

 He couldn't imagine the pain. He didn't want to see it in his mind.

 Everyone would hurt if they died.

 Everyone would be affected.

 Everyone.

 The rouge howled back in anger transforming quickly into his horrible wolf  form and aiming for Stiles. between a leap and a landing Derek morphed into his alpha form and attacked. Nothing was going to kill his mate. He wouldn't let them.

 He didn't care about being fair.

 He didn't care about any pain.

 He was going  to protect Stiles.

 And he would do it without dying.

 He had some unfinished business.

* * *

 

Mate.

 _Mate_.

 _Mate_.

 Derek had just called him his mate.

 Stiles was still trying to breath normally but he could bet his Star Trek Next Generation DVD set that he was breathing harder and more erratically with the information. He tried to keep track of the fight between the two alphas that was happening  but his mind was going through an overflow. He wasn't sure if this was all happening in the real life because hello, Derek had just called him his mate. Which yeah awesome he's into him. But no fun if this was some predestined bullshit. Stiles didn't do Romeo and Juliet. He did Hamlets. He did Much Ado About Nothings. He did Macbeths.  He did not do the whole burn up into a bursting star that shines bright and dies even quicker than it took for it to shine. He did the slow burns. The burns that started from the toes and ate up the body until steam was poring out. The burns that would explode and put the North Star to shame.

 But mate.

 He couldn't get past the whole idea that Derek had some interest in him. Sure, it was the wrong place to be having these thoughts because again hello fight happening right in front of you. Stiles had to be ready in case the asshole tried something. Said asshole suddenly threw Derek off and jumped again for Stiles who was ready with dirt in his balled up fists. He pretended to trying to breath which really wasn't much of a act. He was really hurting all over and his head was starting to sway. He felt nauseous. There were mini Thors in his mind hitting every place it could get to. He had to suck in quick breaths to stop the impending pukes. When the rogue had finally gotten close enough to claw his face Stiles opened his hands and aimed for the eyes and rolled to the side.

The surprised yip told him he had gotten it right. He felt a claw on his bad leg pull and without thinking he picked up the nearest rock and slammed it down as hard as he could on the wrist hoping to break it. He got a yowl as his present for it. The second slap this time to his body threw him halfway across the clearing.

 He got up on all fours with shaky breaths to see Derek clawing and taking apart the rogue. Stiles tried to laugh but only ended up puking instead. _Shit. Shit._ He puked again and swayed. Ms. McCall had told him the signs of a concussion. He was pretty sure he had one now. _Shit._ He saw dark puppets and shadow that posed as trees. He saw darkness slipping into his mind and knew he was passing out. Fuck. He didn't normally curse this much but he felt it was allowed now. He somehow rolled over onto his back looking up to the sky. It was getting dark and he knew it wasn't just because of the way his eyes were closing without his control. He couldn't do anything but look up and think in his mind.

  _He called me his mate._

_Derek Hale wants Stiles Stilinski._

_Maybe today wasn't so bad after all._

* * *

Stiles awoke to the feeling of his fingers curled into wavy hair and his body in bed. He rolled his head to the side to see Derek sitting and reading a book on the side of his bed. He was home. He what had happened between his passing out and waking up here. At least Lia was safe. He considered going to sleep again and waking up tomorrow or later or some other time to deal with things.

 Accalia destroyed that idea though. "Papa! You're up!" she exclaimed pulling her head from where it was resting on his chest and sticking her head in his line of sight. He smiled at her accepting that he wasn't going back to sleep yet. He still had her with him. He was alive. "You've been sleeping like Sleeping Beauty Papa. You were hurt really bad but you came back to me!"

 "I'll always try to come back to you Lia. You're my cub. I'll always come back." he said.

"Derek saved you. Alpha Derek's been here longer than I was. He's been here every day. I couldn't come here at night until you got better. I didn't like it much." She went on to say.

 A knock on the door stopped Stiles from thinking too much about the fact that Derek was sitting by his bed the whole time he was out. Which he wasn't sure about now that he thought about it. He didn’t know if he was out for a day or a week. Peter leaned into the room with Lydia just behind him. "Lia come on your Uncle Jack is making your favorite dish he says-Oh you're up." Peter commented stepping more into the room. Lydia followed and sat on the edge of the bed putting her hand across his head as if she was checking his temperature.

 "His fever is gone too. He's much better." she offered up

 "How long have I been out for exactly?" Stiles questioned.

 "Well you had a concussion," Peter started

 "I figured that out before I passed out."

 "You also had a broken leg; a hairline fracture which means you're looking at a good two months in a cast. You broke two rib bones. You broke 3 toes on your left leg as well. You're not to use your left arm for a good two weeks. You have multiple lacerations across your back, your thighs, and arms. So you've been out for 5 days as of two hours ago."

 "Five days. I've been out cold for 5 days." he asked for clarification.

 "All things considered you did pretty good. Deaton was impressed with the barrier you made for Lia even. He said that when you get better he's willing to try teaching you some more things." Lydia stated giving him a light pat on his arm. "And with that we'll leave you and Derek alone to talk."

 Lia on the other hand looked to be having an internal battle with herself about leaving Stiles alone with Derek. She looked unsure for a second before nodding her head at no one, kissing Stiles on the cheek, and lifting her arms up to Peter. Peter only smiled and picked her up. "Did I tell you darling that you're my favorite niece?"

 "Uncle Peter...how can I be your favorite if I'm the only one you have?" she questioned with a tilt of her head.

 "He means that even if he had more later on he would still think you're his favorite." Lydia supplied smiling as she closed the door.

 Stiles looked over at Derek unsure of how to start talking.  Well he knew how to talk the thing was he wasn't so sure about the way to say anything. He had Derek's undivided attention now and he felt flustered. Where to start?

 "So what did you tell my dad about my injuries?" he said thinking that it was a nice place to start off at.

 "I told him the truth. I told him what had happened. So he's already met Lia. He's not too happy you didn't tell him you had pretty much adopted a kid already. I don't think he's too keen on the fact that you did it behind his back in a round about way. Accalia already has him in her hands though if it makes you feel better."

 "What did she do?" he was curious to know about the mischief his cub had gotten into already  in the five days he wasn't there.

 "Well she's been staying some days at your house in your bed with a member of the pack so that she can sleep. She didn't like the fact that we banned her from staying the night with you while you were sleeping so she's only calm when she's sleeping in your room. Its the scent I think. She's calling your dad Grandpapa. She's calling Ms. McCall Grandmamma. It's funny to see their reactions."

 "I wished I had a picture of it." he lamented

 "Erica took a picture to keep." Derek offered.

 "Bless that sweet child." Stiles approved of her methods.

 The silence descended upon them quicker than he thought it would. Silence really wasn't nice. It left room for ideas and thoughts. It left time for feeling to plant their seeds and grow into beanstalks.

"So...mates? We're mates? Do I get a say in this or anything? And when did this suddenly come to your mind?" he questioned.

 Derek opened his mouth and closed it again before opening it again. He pulled on his hair before running his hands through it. Stiles noticed that he had a particularly deeper shade of stubble. His eyes looked slightly bloodshot as if he hadn't been sleeping properly in the past few days. "Mates don't work like that. I-Look I thought you could have died. I thought I was going to get there too late and you were going to be dead and  I wouldn't have had a chance to tell you I wanted you to be my mate. That I really...that I really cared about. That I maybe love you and if you could give me a chance. If _we_ could have a chance together. A chance to be mates."

 "You like me...You actually like me." Stiles repeated back.

"Yes. Lyida's also on my naughty list. It's like she's dressing you up to get back at me for something..."  
"Well..." Stiles started. "She lets me pick out everything. She's only been putting back a few so it's actually me you hate. You know when he was about to kill me I kept saying sorry."

"Why were you saying sorry?" Derek asked tilting his head to the side. Stiles was starting to think it was more of a wolf thing now that he thought about it.

 "I was saying sorry for dying. I was saying sorry for never telling you I wanted-" He yawned for a moment. God he was still tired but he had to finish this. "I was sorry for never telling you I wanted you. I was sorry for never admitting how much I wished I got to share Lia with you, like a couple. And I'm really tired again."

 Derek leaned over and brought a glass of water near. Stiles gladly took a gulp of the water before he realized Derek was holding two pills out to him. He only raised his eyebrows at him instead of taking it.

 "Deaton order you to take one once you woke up every 6 hours. One's for the pain and the other is a form of antibiotics. Take it." he ordered.

 Stiles took the pill and swallowed it down while he grumbled  about bossy wolves who thought that just because he had confessed his feeling to them that somehow that meant they could keep bossing him around. Where was the softness. Where was the humanity. Derek just smiled a bit, which Stiles couldn't pull his mind away from the idea that _damn that's a sexy smile_.

 "Derek?" he called as said person walked towards the door "Could you sleep with me tonight?"

 Derek's eyes only opened wide and Stiles really had to resist the urge to say ' _What big eyes you have.'_ Then his brain caught up to what his mouth had just said. _Shit_. "I meant like an adult sleepover in the cleanest sense. Like just lay down with me. In a NON SEXUAL WAY!"

 Derek shook his head and Stiles resisted the urge to slump down in defeat.

 "Do you promise to not try to take advantage of me Stiles?" Derek questione with a slightly husky voice.

 Stiles couldn't speak. He only nodded his head in reply.

 

 Best. Summer. Ever.

* * *

 

Accalia poked her head into the dark room looking back into the hallway to make sure no one was suddenly waking up to drag her back to their room. She didn't mind spending her nights with her Grandpapa at all. She adored spending her nights wrapped up snuggly in her Papa's bed surrounded by his scent. But it wasn't the real thing. It wasn't her living Papa who would card his hands into her hair the closer to sun up it came. It wasn't her Papa who sang her to sleep sometimes. It wasn't her Papa who would give her She Wolf kisses and more. It wasn't her Papa. And she missed her Papa a lot. They had promised her she could be with her Papa the moment he woke up. Well he was up now and she was going to sleep with him like she always did.

 Nothing was going to stand in her way.

_Nothing._

 The moment she walked closer to the bed and climbed up she was met with the red eyes of  an alpha. She tensed at first ready to whimper and cower before she realized that the eyes weren't looking at her in anger just curiousity. It was Derek. He was watching over her Papa. She huffed to herself before crawling over to her Papa who was sleeping facing Derek. Nothing was going to stop her from her sleep. She paused before she tried to snuggle down to her Papa and locked gazes with Derek.

 She had made a bargain. She had promised to be let him have a chance to get closer to her Papa.

Accalia  was a smart cub. She made her bargain. The wish had given her its side of the balance, she now had to give her side back. But she didn't have to just do it. Lia stared hard into the alpha's eyes making sure he saw exaclty what she meant. She looked down to her Papa then back at him frowning with as much threat she could give. Once Derek tilted his head back in a slight bow she nodded to herself and started to burrow down into her Papa's arms.

 If Derek made her Papa unhappy she would make him unhappy.

 Very unhappy.

 No one messed with her Papa.

No one.

* * *

Derek huffed to himself shaking his head. He had the weirdest pack known to man. He was getting threats from 4 year old betas. It was worst that he was taking the threat as serious. He snorted to himself again before looking over to his mate who was waking up slightly to open his arms and pull his cub closer to him. Derek smiled into the night. If he had to take some threats he thought it was worth it.

 What's a few threats to happiness?

* * *

 Stiles was sleeping again after Lia had snuck into his bed with Derek still laying there. He had smiled to himself when he realized he hadn't left. The slight poke he was getting told him that Lia was up again though.

 "Yes cub?" he whispered softly hoping to not wake Derek up.

 "Can you sing my song? I-I can't sleep well." Lia pleaded back in a whisper.

 Stiles pulled her closer and gave her a bigger hug. "Okay. Why don't you start?" he mumbled to her.

 Lia tried to bring herself closer to him, as if she was going to be able be absorbed into him. She opened her mouth a few times before she started. "  _"Blackbird singing in the dead of night_."

  _"Take these broken wings and learn to fly....All your life,_ " Stiles sung back to her feeling more than seeing Derek's arms come around to encircle both of them into his arms and bringing them closer to him. Stiles sucked in another breath and kissed Lia on her head before turning his head to kiss the arm that was holding him close.

 He had had a family.

 He had his very own weird, confusing, and disturbing family.

 He had friends he would kill for.

 He had a father.

 He had a best friend's mother.

 He had the best friend any guy could ask for.

 He was 18 with a kid and he loved her so much.

 He had a mate. He was going to call him boyfriend around his dad for a while though.

 He had the best family he could ever ask for.

He just had to go through some physical and mental pains to get it.

 What's a little bit of pain though to happiness?

 What's a little bit of pain to love?

  _"You were only waiting for this moment to arise."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First let me tell you that I adore you all and I hope you liked this.  
> Please tell me if did :D I live off of reviews and comments.  
> P.S.  
> So guess what? I'm not done with this world AT ALL. I have ideas for little snippets and maybe a part two or even part three with Lia and the gang. I already have these snapshots of her growing up in the Hale family/pack. There will be more Lia and more BAMF! Stiles. There will be fluffy. There will be blocking of getting cozy with her Papa. MORE I TELL YOU!
> 
> P.P.S.  
> The song which not only provided the title for the work but are the last lines is called Blackbird and is by the Beatles. Check it out, either the original or Across the Universe version.

**Author's Note:**

> reviews? Yes? Please? Thanks :D


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